Slumping euro drops below 1.05

The euro has extended its slide on Thursday and fell as low as 1.0471 in the European session, before clawing back above the 1.05 line.

Wobbly euro extends slide

It has been a nasty ride for the euro, which can’t seem to get a break. EUR/USD is down for a sixth successive day. The euro is struggling at levels not seen since March 2017, and is down over 5 per cent in the month of April. News out of Russia is compounding the currency’s fall. Russia has banned gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria after they refused to pay in Russian roubles, as Moscow continues to weaponize its energy supplies in order to combat sanctions. The plot thickens, with reports that some European energy companies have agreed to pay Russia in roubles. This could be a violation of sanctions and would put those companies on a collision course with their governments and that could spell trouble for the euro.

Aside from the grim news out of Russia, the hawkish Federal Reserve is also weighing on the euro, as the US/Europe rate differential continues to widen. US Treasury yields rose on Thursday, and even a shock contraction in US GDP didn’t stop yields from rising, with the 10-year yield edging higher to 2.85%. The CME’s Fed Watch has pegged the odds of a half-point rate hike at 96%, and the Fed has telegraphed to the markets that more half-point increases are on the table.

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending and the Fed in full throttle, the outlook for the euro looks bleak, with the currency on track to break below 1.03 and perhaps fall to parity.

.

EUR/USD Technical

  • EUR/USD has broken through support at 1.0553. Below, there is support at 1.0411
  • There is resistance at 1.0657 and 1.0728

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.